Daylight Savings Time is happening this weekend, on Sunday, March 13th. Are you ready to “Spring Ahead”?
Why do we Spring Ahead and Fall Back anyway? Apparently the concept of gaining and losing an hour of time has been around for quite a while.
“For example, the Roman water clocks used different scales for different months of the year.” Other Ancient Cultures have other means of accounting for the shorter and longer days, including sundial clocks.
Germany was the first country to use Daylight Savings Time (DST) nationally, but the first modern use actually begins in Canada. The US finally started setting their clocks back in 1918, to help save fuel for WWI, but seven months later it was repealed, only to be brought back again during WWII. “Some cities, including Pittsburgh, Boston, and New York, continued to use it until President Franklin D. Roosevelt instituted year-round DST in the United States in 1942” From 1945 to 1966, there were no standard rules, about it though, which caused lots of confusion for everyone.
“From 1945 to 1966 there were no uniform rules for DST in the US and it caused widespread confusion especially for trains, buses, and the broadcasting industry. As a result, the Uniform Time Act of 1966 was established by Congress. It stated that DST would begin on the last Sunday of April and end on the last Sunday of October. However, states still had the ability to be exempt from DST by passing a state ordinance.” Which is why Arizona doesn’t participate.
So there you have it, a little more information on why Daylight Savings Time happens. A little more light to knit by? Yes, please!